Can we please remember that this is fiction after all.... Don't compare this show to real life law & order or expect anything more than entertainment and you won't be disappointed. I was on the fence after the pilot but my curiosity sucked me in & I ended up watching 15 episodes in a week. I didn't have a hard time following the flashback scenes since they were "labeled" nicely for the viewer. If you stick with this show for a few episodes you won't be disappointed. I thought I had everything figured out more than once...You can't just sit and "Veg" in front of the screen. You are required to pay attention & actually tune in or you may miss something important. I watch via Netflix or DVR so that if I feel like I just missed something I can rewind a scene or 2. I get pretty invested in shows being a TV junkie & this show keeps me feeling fulfilled.
7 Reviews
Viola Davis commands a show which utilizes her talents, and gives her excellent supporting actors to play off of.
Amari-Sali28 September 2014
Warning: Spoilers
Needless to say, Shonda Rhimes is perhaps one of the top producers today and surely is an inspiration. For not only does she have two hit shows on ABC, but they have given her one whole night. A feat I am unsure if ever done before. Though, what makes her especially wonderful, is her two most recent programs, Scandal and now How To Get Away With Murder feature two of the best actresses, period, who have found themselves unfortunately not finding the role they deserve on film. And while Kerry Washington may have been the one to turn the knob and open the door for Black actresses on TV, Viola Davis may have damn well rip the hinges off.
Topic 1: Meet the Students – Wes (Alfred Enoch), Connor (Jack Falahee), Michaela (Aja Naomi King), Asher (Matt McGorry) & Laurel (Karla Souza)
Wes was a wait listed student who just two days prior to the semester beginning got accepted. Something which seems weird, but it isn't interesting enough to question. If just because as he enters Middleton Law School, and professor Keating's class, he becomes but a number. One which has to compete against the well prepared Michaela, who idolizes professor Keating and seemingly is her mini- me; Connor, someone with a moral compass which seems to be completely ignored if it means success; Asher, who pretty much seems like a well-connected parent has led to an easy life for him; and then Laurel, a girl who is an idealistic wanna be lawyer who thinks getting into law is about defending the good person and putting away the bad, with no ambiguity ever present, or you ending up protecting the one who isn't innocent.
Topic 2: Meet Annalise Keating (Viola Davis)
Professor Keating encompasses all Viola Davis has ever given and more. She has a lioness' sight and can rip the jugular from those who disappoint her, or are simply prey; she is conniving and will use whatever method necessary to do her job; and yet despite all the cold-hearted tactics she uses to manipulate people, still this is a person behind all the mystic. One who has issues with her husband, fertility perhaps, and is just trying to do what she loves. Which is match wits with the best and win.
Though no empire, no matter how great the queen, can stand by itself. Mrs. Keating has by her side two associates at her strangely small, or better worded: intimate, law firm. One being Frank (Charlie Weber) who is not Annalise's right hand man, but simply an employee who seems to like the girls Annalise brings around, and then there is Bonnie (Liza Weill) who has a look in her eye which makes her seem like a problem. If just because while Frank seems to be like Michaela and idolize Mrs. Keating, Bonnie seems like more of a Laurel type who may like the pay, and the even maybe the work, but when it comes to Mrs. Keating she isn't fond of some of the decisions she makes. Especially in her personal life.
Topic 3: How To Get Away With Murder – All Names Aforementioned
In the episode there are 3 murders focused on. The first being the case Mrs. Keating is working on which deals with a girl, Gina (Andrea Syglowski), possibly poisoning her boss; a dead body that Wes, Connor, Michaela and Laurel are trying to dispose of; and the murder of a girl named Lila who was the girlfriend of Middleton's star football player Griffin O'Reailly. Someone who happens to be friends with, in some way, Wes' neighbor Rebecca (Katie Findlay).
But while we may not fully know what happened to Lila, though all signs point to Sam (Tom Verica), Annalise's husband, and maybe her, being involved, the motive can only be assumed. As for Gina's case, well it is used simply to introduce the characters and how things are going to operate on the show. It isn't some whirlwind, who did it, type of case which gets you really into things. If anything, it is used excellently to show how far, or simply perhaps how, each of the main cast members may act when it comes to gaining Keating's favor. Be it through sex, like Connor; investigation, like Michaela; or fresh ideas like Wes. As for Laurel and Asher, neither really step it up in the first episode.
Leaving us to talk about that dead body our star students, those mentioned in topic 1, minus Asher, are dealing with. One of them, seemingly Connor, murdered a man in front of the others and now they all treat it like it is their collective problem. So, on a cold day in winter, they take the body to the woods, wrapped in a carpet, and set it on fire. Now, as for whose body it is? Well, it's Annalise's husband Sam. Leading to the question: why did they murder him? Well, such a question is hard to answer though I can only assume before the series, or season, ends we will know the answer.
Topic 4: What Lies Ahead?
Well, we know Annalise is having an affair with Detective Nate Leahy (Billy Brown), who also is married, so likely their relationship will be explored; Rebecca and Wes I see either getting together, or at the very least becoming friends, and that leading to us learning how Lila was murdered; and of course you have the various cases Professor Keating will present to her students for us to consume.
Topic 1: Meet the Students – Wes (Alfred Enoch), Connor (Jack Falahee), Michaela (Aja Naomi King), Asher (Matt McGorry) & Laurel (Karla Souza)
Wes was a wait listed student who just two days prior to the semester beginning got accepted. Something which seems weird, but it isn't interesting enough to question. If just because as he enters Middleton Law School, and professor Keating's class, he becomes but a number. One which has to compete against the well prepared Michaela, who idolizes professor Keating and seemingly is her mini- me; Connor, someone with a moral compass which seems to be completely ignored if it means success; Asher, who pretty much seems like a well-connected parent has led to an easy life for him; and then Laurel, a girl who is an idealistic wanna be lawyer who thinks getting into law is about defending the good person and putting away the bad, with no ambiguity ever present, or you ending up protecting the one who isn't innocent.
Topic 2: Meet Annalise Keating (Viola Davis)
Professor Keating encompasses all Viola Davis has ever given and more. She has a lioness' sight and can rip the jugular from those who disappoint her, or are simply prey; she is conniving and will use whatever method necessary to do her job; and yet despite all the cold-hearted tactics she uses to manipulate people, still this is a person behind all the mystic. One who has issues with her husband, fertility perhaps, and is just trying to do what she loves. Which is match wits with the best and win.
Though no empire, no matter how great the queen, can stand by itself. Mrs. Keating has by her side two associates at her strangely small, or better worded: intimate, law firm. One being Frank (Charlie Weber) who is not Annalise's right hand man, but simply an employee who seems to like the girls Annalise brings around, and then there is Bonnie (Liza Weill) who has a look in her eye which makes her seem like a problem. If just because while Frank seems to be like Michaela and idolize Mrs. Keating, Bonnie seems like more of a Laurel type who may like the pay, and the even maybe the work, but when it comes to Mrs. Keating she isn't fond of some of the decisions she makes. Especially in her personal life.
Topic 3: How To Get Away With Murder – All Names Aforementioned
In the episode there are 3 murders focused on. The first being the case Mrs. Keating is working on which deals with a girl, Gina (Andrea Syglowski), possibly poisoning her boss; a dead body that Wes, Connor, Michaela and Laurel are trying to dispose of; and the murder of a girl named Lila who was the girlfriend of Middleton's star football player Griffin O'Reailly. Someone who happens to be friends with, in some way, Wes' neighbor Rebecca (Katie Findlay).
But while we may not fully know what happened to Lila, though all signs point to Sam (Tom Verica), Annalise's husband, and maybe her, being involved, the motive can only be assumed. As for Gina's case, well it is used simply to introduce the characters and how things are going to operate on the show. It isn't some whirlwind, who did it, type of case which gets you really into things. If anything, it is used excellently to show how far, or simply perhaps how, each of the main cast members may act when it comes to gaining Keating's favor. Be it through sex, like Connor; investigation, like Michaela; or fresh ideas like Wes. As for Laurel and Asher, neither really step it up in the first episode.
Leaving us to talk about that dead body our star students, those mentioned in topic 1, minus Asher, are dealing with. One of them, seemingly Connor, murdered a man in front of the others and now they all treat it like it is their collective problem. So, on a cold day in winter, they take the body to the woods, wrapped in a carpet, and set it on fire. Now, as for whose body it is? Well, it's Annalise's husband Sam. Leading to the question: why did they murder him? Well, such a question is hard to answer though I can only assume before the series, or season, ends we will know the answer.
Topic 4: What Lies Ahead?
Well, we know Annalise is having an affair with Detective Nate Leahy (Billy Brown), who also is married, so likely their relationship will be explored; Rebecca and Wes I see either getting together, or at the very least becoming friends, and that leading to us learning how Lila was murdered; and of course you have the various cases Professor Keating will present to her students for us to consume.
Fantastic
noorodeh-6052325 July 2019
Ambitious and slightly epic first episode
RyanCShowers27 September 2014
The promotional campaign behind "How to Get Away with Murder" is wicked. The red and black posters of Viola Davis attract the eye at first glance. Having Davis, the Viola Davis, starring in a network television show with traces of the horror genre invites curiosity in itself. The pilot of "How to Get Away with Murder" is an ambitious and slightly epic first episode of a series that will probably be a huge commercial hit.
"How to Get Away with Murder" has a different feel than I originally had envisioned. It's closer to a CW teen show than to a primetime network procedural. With promising lead character, merits of Davis in mind, and the timeslot partnership with "Scandal" I was not expecting the show to lean more towards the teenage audience, but it does, and in doing that, the show cleverly entertains with little else on its mind.
But that's okay thanks to the heightened levels of stature and talent Davis brings to the table. Davis is fierce and fabulous as the brilliant lawyer/professor at the middle of the show. She's sexy, bitchy, harsh, cold, slick, compassionate, and wounded. For the rest of her career, Davis will probably not find a role more fun to play or a more fun for her audience to watch.
From a social standpoint, "How to Get Away with Murder" is an incredibly liberal show, but it does not live or die in its political stance. There is not a white, heterosexual male character that's emphasized in the pilot. (Refreshing!) "How to Get Away with Murder" does not intentionally remind us of that explicitly, which is why its so easy to respect the show. The fall season should provide a great run for this little vehicle, and if its able to gain momentum in the coming months, this could be a new cult favorite.
Grade: B
"How to Get Away with Murder" has a different feel than I originally had envisioned. It's closer to a CW teen show than to a primetime network procedural. With promising lead character, merits of Davis in mind, and the timeslot partnership with "Scandal" I was not expecting the show to lean more towards the teenage audience, but it does, and in doing that, the show cleverly entertains with little else on its mind.
But that's okay thanks to the heightened levels of stature and talent Davis brings to the table. Davis is fierce and fabulous as the brilliant lawyer/professor at the middle of the show. She's sexy, bitchy, harsh, cold, slick, compassionate, and wounded. For the rest of her career, Davis will probably not find a role more fun to play or a more fun for her audience to watch.
From a social standpoint, "How to Get Away with Murder" is an incredibly liberal show, but it does not live or die in its political stance. There is not a white, heterosexual male character that's emphasized in the pilot. (Refreshing!) "How to Get Away with Murder" does not intentionally remind us of that explicitly, which is why its so easy to respect the show. The fall season should provide a great run for this little vehicle, and if its able to gain momentum in the coming months, this could be a new cult favorite.
Grade: B
It's the Pilot
Hitchcoc21 May 2019
I have to admit this has some panache. Viola Davis is certainly a force in the law school. She has that same thing going that John Houseman had in "The Paper Chase." There are five students chosen to be part of her firm (an interesting idea). We know from the start that they have covered up a murder and are trying to hide the body. The case they are involved in is quite intricate. Unfortunately, there is such not much of a chance to relax and figure things out. Still, I plan on checking out the first regular episode.
That's not how this works
AzSumTuk1 October 2015
That's not how any of this works. I hope you will forgive me for using this meme but it is exactly what needs to be said about the show's pilot episode. It is absurd, preposterous, ridiculous... You get the point. The problem is not that it is unrealistic. Every single courthouse drama out there is unrealistic. The problem is that what we see here is just retarded.
Without spoiling it, within just a bit more than half an hour we are forced to witness the main character violating the 5th amendment twice. We see her sharing her client's confidential information with hundreds of people. We see her congratulating one of her students for flat out violating the law, and then we see her intentionally violating the court protocols. I am not a lawyer, and I am not even an American, but even I know this is not how American justice system works.
And this is not the episode's only problem. The writing as a whole is horrible, and the directing is worse - the pacing is so fast you can't properly follow the plot, and the plot is just nonsensical. And that is not an opinion, that is a fact. The acting is somehow good, but I won't waste anymore time with this thing. Sorry.
Without spoiling it, within just a bit more than half an hour we are forced to witness the main character violating the 5th amendment twice. We see her sharing her client's confidential information with hundreds of people. We see her congratulating one of her students for flat out violating the law, and then we see her intentionally violating the court protocols. I am not a lawyer, and I am not even an American, but even I know this is not how American justice system works.
And this is not the episode's only problem. The writing as a whole is horrible, and the directing is worse - the pacing is so fast you can't properly follow the plot, and the plot is just nonsensical. And that is not an opinion, that is a fact. The acting is somehow good, but I won't waste anymore time with this thing. Sorry.
Its pretty silly chick TV
xhidden9916 January 2018
I'm sure it's entertaining but the man hating angry woman shtick gets old fast if you're over the age of 15. The whole I'm 19 and the black Oliver Wendell Holmes. The whole I'm a poor urban kid who can barely read but I'm a goddamn genius who smokes everyone in the class is silly. And the prof who demands you actually fail every other class in law school so that you can work 100 hrs a week for free for them is lunacy. And btw just because you can talk at 500 wps doesn't mean you know what you're doing. Also who leaves the front door of their 3 million dollar row house in downtown Philly wide open all night? Like I said it's entertaining to someone.
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